Biggish Dig - 1

One of the most prominent intersections in Regina is where Albert Street and Victoria Avenue cross.  Not only is this intersection significant because it is the meeting point of two of Regina's most important thoroughfares, but also because it, more or less, marks the centre of the city.

Since before we moved to Regina in late 2012 this intersection has been notable for another reason, one having nothing to do with its significance as the meeting place of Regina's major north/south and east/west routes, but that for years one corner of this intersection has been nothing but a vacant lot.

Of course, for years there was talk of a major condo/hotel development.

For years nothing happened.

Eventually they swapped out the old fence surrounding the site for a new see-through fence.

Progress!

Then in September it was announced that in October real would start on the development.  Finally.

Of course, the real work wasn't scheduled to begin until after Thanksgiving.

When a single backhoe and dump truck showed up and seemed to move some old pavement around for a few days I wasn't particularly convinced the project was really a go.

Of course, after quite a number of days of similar action/equipment my hopes weren't much lifted.

Eventually, in time for the October 28, 2015 photo op this pile driver was delivered.  Aside from its use as a backdrop for the photo op I don't get the sense that this has done anything much yet.  And as my understanding of piles is that they aren't driven until excavation has been done, that six levels of parking excavation are still incomplete/not started I can't see how this thing is going to be of much use for the next few months.

Of course, it wasn't until yesterday/today that I've really started to have any faith that the project is really going to move forward.  Finally, for as far as I can tell, the first time obvious attempts at excavation were in the works.

Of course, what this excavation seems to show is that the hotel that was previously on this site was only partially demolished.  The top was knocked down while the foundation was left to rot/be dug out years later.  Now that I see how much demolition is still required before true excavation can start I am worried that much progress will be made before Winter sets in.

Of course, one of the real reasons I'm particularly interested in this construction site has nothing to do with the significance of the intersection or it's impact on the re-development of downtown Regina - but because my new job is located in the building next to the construction site.  

Days after I arrived is when they years delayed project finally started.

Even though we're only a few days into real work transpiring the sidewalk I pass along to get to work is already covered with mud - a problem that is only likely to grow worse with continued excavation.

So I guess at the heart of it I'm really just another NIMBYer, or at least a LMSTPPACSWRINer (Let's Make Sure This Project Proceeds According to Code and Schedule and With Respect for Its Neighbours).

I'll do my best to keep you updated until this whole thing is complete, which should be some time in 2018.

Hooray for timing!

An ever changing canvas

A few weeks ago I noticed that we had some new graffiti on the wall across from my bedroom. The blue and orange faces of a few months ago were now obscured by a relatively large white design accompanied by the word 'tweak.' As far as I was concerned, this was definitely a step backwards as far as my view was concerned. The mustachioed orange guy, in particular, was at least a little whimsical and amusing while the 'tweak' thing is just eight kinds of bland.




Anyway, it seems that the 'tweak' piece just wasn't meant to last. At some point last night more graffiti was added to the same patch of cement meaning that much of the recently added white piece has now been completely obscured. Given that we are now back to two faces I am curious if we in haven't had another visit from the same person who was so kind as to grace us with the blue and orange faces?



I guess I will just have to get used to the new view, though I probably shouldn't get too used to it as it is sure to change in the relatively near future.

A Few Quick Notes 365

-Though it seemed to be raining pretty heavily last night, and there were a few rain drops at various points today, overall today wasn't too bad a day. That being said, it is definitely fall now and the lower temperatures will mean that I will soon have to make the switch from my sports coats to a more substantive jacket in the coming days.

-Last night, though I don't know why I was move to do it last night, I removed most of my bean plants (as they were approaching death if they weren't already dead). This, at least as far as I am concerned, makes the balcony look a fair bit better. In the coming days I may try and deal with a few more of the plant pots as the end of the growing season is definitely upon us.

-That being said, just a few days ago we started to get our first blooms on the morning glory plants. Unfortunately, due to inattention, I missed the first bloom (but did manage to see the remnants). Luckily, when they started really hitting hard I did manage to see them, and even to snap a photograph of the whole affair.



It seems that in the days since this was taken thins have taken a turn for the worse with the plants. Actually, I imagine that they are all basically dead now as they have been outside in sub-zero temperatures.

-This afternoon I decided to make a batch of bread (four loaves). The first project gave me the necessary motivation to take on a second project, doing my laundry, as these two projects work nicely with one another because of their natural gaps and periods of inactivity. Now that I have sampled the bread and the clean duvet cover I think I can safely say that they both were completed successfully.

-The other major project of the day is some marking that I have to do for my TAship. I may also try to track down a few readings for my upcoming week's classes, though that might be a little more than I can handle in a single night.

-Yesterday, because Neil and Rebecca were attending a math conference dinner, I took the opportunity to prepare myself some marlin that I had in the freezer. It turns out that I think I really don't like marlin. The relatively small piece that I had prepared myself was about twice as much as I could stomach, which is rather unfortunate (though the good news is that I had only paid 50% of the original price for the fish). Anyway, I am just lucky that I had prepared myself 4 potatoes so that I had a satisfying meal even though I didn't eat much of the main dish.

-Last night as I was plugging away at a paper that was due this morning I turned around from my desk and got a look at my floor.



It seems that my filing system really is a little more floor based that I would like (as is my bed). I imagine that some people, upon seeing this, might have a hard time believing that I not only attended library school, but also passed.

-My bedroom plants seemed to have slowed down a little bit, but are definitely still growing. In particular, the tobacco taking up an ever increasing proportion of the window. I keep imagining that I won't even be able to see out, my view will be completely blocked by homegrown tobacco.



I guess the only thing I will be blocked from seeing is a relatively grey cement wall, so it might not be much of a loss.

-Surely there are more import topics on which I should be expounding, but I think I may have to call it for now so that I can get back to my grading and dinner prep (proper meals seem to have gone out of my schedule these past few days and I am hoping to bring them back).

What a beautiful night in the neighbourhood

Things started to get a little strange at about 8:10 or so, just as the sun was starting to set and things were beginning to become darker.

I was working at my desk when I saw a tallish, seemingly inebriated young male approach the fence/rail outside of my window and proceed attempt to climb and then fall over the obstacle. After lying down on the cement for a few moments this individual made his way towards our balcony. As he moved out of my line of sight and into the range of my plants I was a little worried that he might knock things over or try to abscond with one or more of my plants.

It seems that this young man was actually just going to retrieve his hat, which must have been dropped from one of the floors above onto our balcony area, and which he returned to his head as he made his way back to the fence/rail.

A little later in the evening, maybe at about 10:00 I heard a clattering sound coming from our balcony. As Rebecca had almost simultaneously banged a drawer I assumed that that was in fact all I had heard. A little later in the evening, when I actually made it back to the balcony, I learned that someone had thrown an empty energy drink can onto our balcony, the first such incident since I have been living here. A little later I looked from our balcony to the parking lot below and noticed that about 10 cans had ended up there also.

Just before 2:30 I was lying in bed when I heard what sounded like an aerosol can being used. Amazingly, one of my first thoughts was that someone was installing some new graffiti on the cement wall across from my window. I got up and peeked under my curtain and saw someone with their back to the walling, standing in a position that suggested they were hoping not to be seen. New markings on the wall were also visible, though at the time what these markings were of was not particularly clear. Though I heard another spray or two, I think I scared the person away before they were ready to leave.

When I went out to check on things this morning this is the quality work that I found.



Rebecca was wondering if I distracted them before they had a chance to add colour. I think that the person I distracted likely just isn't particularly talented. The other thing that makes this so great is that I will be one of the handful of people in the world who might get a chance to see this on a daily basis.

You may recall that just a few months ago some graffiti was removed from this location by a power washer-based operation.



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After taking a photo of the new graffiti I was making my way back over the wall to my balcony when I noticed that something had been dropped on the banana plant. My feeling is that this is likely some tomato based sauce, maybe even pizza innards.



I have since washed the banana plant so that I doesn't have to pass its coming days with this guck on it.

There definitely a few strange goings on last night in my neighbourhood. I hope tonight is a little quieter.

A Few Quick Notes 321

-Today has been pretty nice so far, but it seems that in the last few minutes things have started to cloud over a little. Hopefully this doesn't mean impending rain.

-Yesterday Neil and I attended our first Ultimate practice of the season (we missed one a few days ago due to a prior commitment). Generally thing seemed to go well, and it was definitely nice to meet some of the members of the team that we hadn't met before.

Our first game is on Sunday evening. As I haven't played in a few weeks I imagine that this will really tire me out, as first games tend to.

-Neil and Rebecca are back in Newfoundland for a few days leaving Ed and I to our own devices here in the apartment. While I can't speak for Ed, I imagine that most controversial things I may do will likely relate to seed planting and our apartment's plants.

-On the subject of plants, one of the corn plants in my bedroom has really been growing quite rapidly these past few days. I am hoping that the sudden growth spurt is an indication that there will soon ears of corn will start to develop. Even though this plant is much taller than the last corn plant, I don't expect any ears that do grow to even approach full size.



The pepper plant, which is to the left of the corn, seems to be doing nicely. Unfortunately, only one of the seeds that I planted seems to have properly germinated. Two of the other seeds germinated but then became stunted as the seeds' shells got stuck on the top of the shoots and seem to have basically prevented further development. Amazingly, both of these short stalks do seem to still be alive, so maybe there is still some hope for their future survival.

The recently planted corn and pepper seeds are still showing no signs of growth. This is not particularly surprising as far as the peppers are concerned, but a little behind schedule for the corn. I am starting to think that the age of the corn seeds might be part of the problem.

-The balcony garden seems to be growing very slowly. In the past few days a few of the peas have shown signs of growth, but the number of stalks doesn't even come close to the number of seeds that were planted.

The plants that seem to be doing shockingly well, but will surely slow down in the very near future, are the broccoli and cauliflower seeds that I planted a few days ago. In many ways I am just please that they have shown any signs of growth as I really expected them to be a complete shot in the dark. On the other hand, I imagine that growing them in yogurt containers isn't really the way to ensure that they react full size.

-The hole that was cut in our wall a few days ago has received its first coat of plaster. The guy was supposed to come back last night and finish up, but it seems that no one heard him when he knocked on the door to be let in to do the work. The consequence is that I am now killing time (though I do have productive things that I could be doing) while waiting for him to return and complete the job. The real problem is that I fear I may miss the knock and have blown a good portion of my evening.

-Last night, after practice, I made my way to the grocery store before returning home. As I was picking up my purchases after checking out I overheard a woman at a neighbouring aisle, who had also just checked out, ask the cashier whether the olive oil she was holding was in a glass bottle. The incident reminded me of a neighbour kid who used to frequently ask my father what he was doing while he was in the midst of completing rather obvious chores, such as mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway.

Unexpected consequences

In a recent post I mentioned that our tub was checked for a leak but in the end it turned out that the leak was in the neighbouring apartment. At the time I thought that this was good news for us and rather unfortunate news for our neighbour. In the short-run at least, it seems that it may actually be the other way around.

This morning, in an attempt to access the neighbour's tub plumbing, building management cut a hole in the wall in our front hall.



Unfortunately, once the hole had been cut they realized that there was plywood blocking access to the desired pipes. The consequence of this mission of discovery is that we now have a rather unsightly hole in our front hall that will need to be repaired in the coming days (and the superintendent has assured us it will be). The other bad news, meaning in addition to the unneeded hole, is that if they cannot fix the leak from above our neighbour's tub will likely have to be removed for the leak to be fixed. This will surely be a rather significant inconvenience.

The other thing that this encounter has taught me is that Neil doesn't keep up with the blog as much as I expected. It seems that he hadn't read the post about the possible leak and was thus surprised to hear about the leak when they came to cut a hole in our wall this morning. This is something of a blow as I imagine that I could at least count on him to be reading this blog on a regular basis, but it seems that this is not the case anymore.

A Few Quick Notes 319

-As it is dark outside right now I can't see exactly which type of precipitation is falling, but it sounds as though we have made the transition from mist to something approaching drizzle or rain. What has been most impressive about today is that the temperature has been steady for the last several hours, seemingly unaffected by the setting of the sun. If all goes as forecast we could be in for some thunder showers this evening.

-For the past few days we have been on the lookout for the weekly flier bundles that are usually deposited in our lobby. By about 9:00 PM tonight I decided that I would just head out to the grocery stores to pick up the fliers myself. Having had a chance to examine the fliers I am not sure whether the trip was worth the effort as there really weren't that many deals to get all that excited about. Maybe we will have better luck next week.

-This morning while I was drinking coffee and reading the paper I heard a knock on the door, which is rather unusual because one normally has to get through the security door before they can reach the apartment. It turned out to be the superintendent and a maintenance worker. It seems a leak had been discovered in the basement and they were worried it was coming from our tub. Fortunately after some examination in our bathroom and in the basement, as well as in the neighbouring apartment they were able to determine that the leak was actually coming from next door, which is quite nice from our perspective, though rather unfortunate for our neighbours.

-We are still in the midst of an election in Nova Scotia though one might know this if they were just passing through. This seems to be one of the lowest key elections I have ever witnessed, and doesn't seem to have really picked up steam or slowed down since it started. I wonder if people will remember to vote on June 9.

-It seems that I may have a way to have my hand truck transported from Montreal to Halifax. Though I didn't know it until today, it has been stored in a dining room since September. I get the sense that Steven, and presumably Nithum and their roommate, will be glad to be rid of it once and for all.

-Several days ago I started developing a cold. There are few things that I can think of that are more fun than a cold in the summer.

-A few days ago, while still in PEI with my father and Neil and Rebecca I tried to come up with a math joke that was a play on teaching how to integrate functions. While the original was a little crude, I think I managed to improve it a little today. The moderately improved new version is "Do Irish math profs integrate functions by inviting Catholics and Protestants to their parties?"

While working on this quality piece of math humour I came up with another wonderful joke, though this one is likely better spoken than read.

Q: Which Canadian federal government agency should you contact to locate you sister?
A: CSIS

Maybe it still needs some work.

It seems that a major problem with my joke writing attempts is that I just don't know what is funny.

A Few Quick Notes 281

-Today was another pretty passable day, though I didn't make it outside so I don't know if the wind made things unpleasant.

-Environment Canada seems to have recently added 2 days to their forecast, making it a 7 day forecast. A friend of mine who is a meteorologist suggested that he doesn't listen to anything more than 48 hours out, so I wonder how useful these additional two days will be, especially given their track record with the 5 day forecast.

-Almost as soon as I woke up this morning I started making a batch of bread. After not too long a period of time I was able to tap into the first loaf, which happened to be the first thing I had to eat all day. Just a few minutes ago I managed to kill of this first loaf. It has been a while since I have killed off an entire loaf of bread in a single day all by myself.

-We had pinwheels for dinner tonight. I think everyone was satisfied with my menu choice.

-While preparing the aforementioned pinwheels I listened to the 1968 episode of Hearing Voices. It was a great. In episode included coverage of the 1968 Democratic convention riots, including a section of tape during which a reporter was gassed and a number of political speeches from the year. The only present-day content was a set of two interviews with former Merry Pranksters about their time with Ken Kesey and Acid Tests. Throughout music from 1968 was included to set the mood.

Actually, this is just one of a number of very good episodes of Hearing Voices that I have been listening to lately. The more I listen the more impressed I am with this show. I particularly enjoy their use of archival material. Anyway, if you like public radio documentary shows Hearing Voices might be to your liking.

-Just a few minutes ago Neil had to take the plunger to our toilet. I had noticed a problem a few minutes earlier but somehow managed to forget to deal with it in any way (though that had been my intention). Fortunately the problem wasn't particularly severe, nothing few strokes of a plunger couldn't take care of.

-While I still feel the remnants of my cold, it is definitely less potent than yesterday. Hopefully it will be completely gone in the very near future.

Non-Winter garbage disposal option

Soon after I moved into our apartment it became clear that we are positioned above the garbage and recycling dumpsters. Somehow, and it may have originated with our superintendent, the idea of tossing our garbage in the dumpsters from above was suggested. Though we were initially somewhat hesitant to try, it really did seem much easer.

As you can see, it really isn't that hard to hit the dumpster from the area just beyond are balcony. Going to the dumpster is for chumps.


Unfortunately, now that we are into Winter this isn't as nice an option. It seems that, at least for the next several months, we may have to actually walk our refuse down to the appropriate bin to dispose of it.




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I can now get down to work

Today, after all most two and a half months, I finally put acquired a key piece of furniture: a filing cabinet. This new acquisition should allow me to both organize my documents and get down to work. Within minutes I had my files in place and was beginning to feel better about life.

The wait has been far too long and led to too many sleepless nights.

A Few Quick Notes 233

-Today has been beautiful so far. Hopefully this weather will manage to hold for the next several days.

-While at the grocery store yesterday afternoon I noticed that they were experiencing a celery shortage, it seems as though they were out of regular celery. When I went to their competitor I found that the situation wasn't much better. While they had celery in the second store it was some of the worst celery that I have ever seen. Much of the celery was yellow instead of green and just generally unappetizing. Unfortunately, as I really wanted celery I was forced to settle for a distinctly sub-par option.

-For the past few weeks I have not been able to motivate myself to read recreationally (aside from newspapers). A few days ago I was listening to an interview on The Sound of Young America with Chip Kidd and realized that we had one of the authors book at our apartment. Almost as soon as I located the book I started reading it and am now almost done. It is great to be reading recreationally again. My next problem will be to find something to read once I am done with this book.


-Several more of my beans have sprouted. While dealing with the newly sprouted plants I decided that I would like one of the pots in my room. This means that I can now spend my time watching my beans grow instead of doing work. The picture is of the variety of plants are presently in my window (left to right: banana plant, aloe droplets, corn, thyme, yellow beans, bay tree).

-Last night we had chicken rice soup for dinner. In a divergence from my normal pattern, the pieces of meat were actually large enough to identify as meat, and there was more than one piece per bowl. Though I might be biased, I thought it was pretty passable.

-Google Analytics seems to be showing an increase in search activity for our blog in the past few days. Not exactly sure what is causing the surge in interest or why it all seems to be because of people finding us through web searches.

-On Thursday night the fire alarm in our building sounded at about 11:00. Once we had gathered things like our pass-ports we made our way outside. Within a few minutes a few fire trucks arrived to check out the building. Fortunately, nothing was on fire and we were able to head back in. Though as this was taking place Neil and Rebecca decided to go to Video Difference to rent a movie. I quickly decided to tag along (though only after I dropped off my belongings).


-Last night, while trying to work on a project I started to play around with some of the features associated with my computer's built-in camera. The following is one of the ways I was busy wasting my time.

Friendly neighbourhood spider

A few weeks ago Rebecca and Neil noticed that a spider had taken up residence in our balcony area. Since its arrival the spider has had to build a number of webs, such as the one shown in this picture. What is particularly impressive is how quickly the spider is able to reproduce a web once the previous web is destroyed, and that the spider somehow manages to survive the various forms of web-destruction that beset it and have the will/energy to continue re-building.

I think that all of us are curious to see how long the spider will be in this location and what happens when the colder temperatures start to set in. Also, I can't imagine that the blowing leaves of fall will be particularly beneficial to the web, and seeing as it is in a debris friendly area I imagine that this will be a problem that the spider will have to encounter sooner rather than later.

It is bad enough in person

It is bad enough that I have to put up with Neil and Rebecca doing all this lovey-dovey stuff in person, but for them to put their tooth brushes in such a way that it appears that they are kissing is a bit much. If they don't find a way to keep it a little more private I may have say something about it to them. How am I supposed to concentrate with all of this is going on.

A Few Quick Notes 224

-Today, like the past few days, has been quite nice. The sky is clear and the wind relatively low. The temperature, though it has dropped since I first arrived, is still quite pleasant, particularly if one is walking. Unfortunately, it seems that rain has been forecast for this weekend (at least I don't have to go walk to school on either of these days).

-Thinking of school, it has really been keeping me busy the past few days. Actually, to a large extent, the large quantity of reading and writing which I have been expected to do has been keeping me away from recreational activities (including blogging).

The notable exception to this trend was a trip to Yuk Yuk's that Neil, Rebecca, and I took last night. We decided to head back to see Kyle Radke, a comedian we saw on our first trip there a few weeks ago.

Just like on our previous visit, the evening was hosted by a local comedian who did some performing before each of the acts. The first two acts of the evening were from Halifax while the third was from New Brunswick. I think that all three of us weren't as impressed with the third act of the night, but that may just have been because he was quite clearly targeting his jokes to the middle-aged members of the audience.

As was the case on our first visit, all three of us really enjoyed Kyle Radke's performance. While there was some duplication of material (as one would expect) the show was consistently funny and entertaining. The material we hadn't heard before was great and was interspersed with some of the stuff we had heard, giving it a new context so that it didn't feel stale.

-I finally got around to baking some bread today. Unfortunately, my batch wasn't quite as large as I had hoped it would be. Some how I ended up with only three loaves, instead of my intended four. The bread is also not quite as sweet as usual, though that is mainly because I didn't put as much sugar as usual.

-Our neighbours, one of whom is also a political science student, will soon be moving out of their apartment. In preparation for the move the started to sell some of their belongings a few weeks ago. Neil and I took the opportunity to buy a few things, including a pair of end tables, some wine glasses, and a bookshelf. We were able to take possession of most of the item immediately, but we had to wait on the bookshelf as it was filled with books (this wasn't a particular problem as we didn't have an immediate need for the bookshelf).

Today we finally took possession of the bookshelf. Now that I have the item I really don't know where it will go. I guess I originally intended it go to in my room, but now I am not sure if I really need another piece of furniture, particularly one that is so large. Anyway, I guess I will have to figure something out sooner rather than later as I can't leave it in the middle of my bedroom for much longer.

A Few Quick Notes 223

-Today was a pretty beautiful day, though I wasn't really able to take advantage of the above average weather. One thing that is noticeable is that the temperatures are starting to drop as fall approaches. Right now one would likely want a jacket if they had to spend a prolonged period of time outside.

-The baby shower Rebecca will be hosting at our apartment is to take place tomorrow afternoon. Though I previously mentioned an aversion to baby shower games it seems that they have somehow crept onto the agenda (this may be been because of constant badgering on the topic).

Along with the scheduling, progress is also being made on the food side of things. During a break from school work I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and during another break I made a batch of humus. Rebecca is presently in the midst of making a layered ice ring for the punch. Neil and I have also made plans to make bacon wrapped scallops before we head out.

-Several days ago Rebecca told Neil and I that she had witnessed two of the neighbourhood boys jumping on the closed dumpster just outside our apartment. This afternoon, while sitting at my desk studying, I heard what sounded like a man peeing against a building. Soon after looking through my window I was able to see that I wasn't too far off in my assessment of the sound, instead of it being a man it was a young boy (he was peeing on an out-building associated with the neighbouring apartment building). Soon after he finished urinating he and a friend, who until then had been out of sight, began to climb on the dumpster and jump up and down on the lids. They started to jump from the top of the out building over an opening in the dumpster to one of the lid segments. Fortunately neither of the kids fell into the dumpster during their play session. I was also glad that it didn't last too long as it was rather loud and distracting.

-Today I read a section of Lord Durham's 1839 report about the governance of Upper and Lower Canada. I was somewhat shocked to read that he seemed to be advocating the 'execution' and 'obliteration' of French Canadian society, particularly when some of the recommendations would seem to accommodate the simultaneous existence of two or more cultures (particularly if they inhabited mutually exclusive territories).

-Tomorrow morning Neil and I are hoping to head to the local farmer's market. One reason for going is to get us out of bed at a reasonable time, though I should note that I am going with the intention of buying some celery, and possibly some onions.

-I should get back to work. I would like to read a few more things before I call it a night.

Tomorrow will be more of the same, reading and writing from dawn to dusk (or at least that is what I am imagining 3 hours of work will feel like).

Trapline update

As I mentioned yesterday, we seem to have been invaded by mice, or at least one mouse.

For the first several hours after the invasion had been observed the mouse could be heard gnawing at something in the wall behind the kitchen sink.



Neil first obtained a few glue traps from building management and then purchased several more traditional traps himself. The two types of traps arranged in with each created quite a visual. We were really trying to use the trapline approach to catching the mouse, it didn't have to be tricked into setting off the trap, it just had to try to leave to cupboard to set off the traps.



By the late evening the noise had ceased though none of the traps showed signs of mouse traffic. I hope that this means that the mouse has passed on (though the implication would be that it died in the wall). My theory was bolstered by some information that I received from the superintendent this evening. It seems that when they remodeled the building a few years ago they, as a precautionary measure, put poison between all of the walls. I suspect that the mouse may have consumed some of this poison and passed away.



The concern now is that if the mouse did die in the wall what are the chances that its decomposing corpse will stink up the joint? I don't think this is all that likely, though the superintendent was of the opinion that it was relatively likely.

A mouse in the house

Several minutes ago I returned from a brief shopping excursion to find that Neil had discovered a mouse in our apartment. By the time I had returned from the store Rebecca had sequestered herself in one of the bedrooms and Neil and the superintendent's husband had laid several traps.

In the minutes after my return Neil and I were able to listen to the mouse gnawing away at something. We both suspect that the mouse somehow made it into the wall behind the kitchen cabinets and now doesn't know how to get out.

As I write this Neil is buying several more mouse traps. The plan is to surround the possible escape paths so that the mouse isn't able to make from the cabinet area alive. Hopefully the mouse decides to try and head out the way he went in so that our plan will work. If the mouse is successful with his gnawing mission we may have a reduced sense of possible escape paths.

Some of you may be wondering how we happened to get a mouse in our apartment. While we don't know exactly what happened, there is a suspicion that it came in through the front door when some new tenants were moving in on the weekend. I am quite please that the superintendent hasn't accused me of bringing it with me in my boxes, a accusation that was leveled at Nithum and I last year.

Hopefully the situation will be resolved quickly, particularly as this gnawing is quite loud and distracting.

A Few Quick Notes 221

-While today has been overcast the rain that I was expecting seems not to have arrived. In many ways I wouldn't really have minded rain as I haven't really gone outside much and I don't plan on doing so.

-Yesterday while Neil, Rebecca, I were at the local farmer's market I was able to buy some onions and celery and a bay tree. The tree, if it manages to survive the winter, should eventually provide me with more bay leaves then I can possibly use. Neil's major purchase was a bottle of Glen Breton, a locally produced single malt whiskey. Neil has been following this company and their products since he heard about the problems they ran into when they tried to call their product a 'scotch.'

-I have spent substantial portions of today and yesterday reading. If things go as planned this evening this trend will continue. Actually, some of my effort may have to be moved over to writing as well as acquiring electronic versions of articles.

Presumably tomorrow will be quite similar to today.

-This morning I made a loaf of banana bread. While I wasn't able to use the recipe I used in the past I was pleased with the results. Neil and I both found that the resulting loaf, while less dense than normal, had a pretty typical banana flavour.

-Moments ago I learned that both of the nearby grocery stores close by 6:00 PM on Sundays. I wish I had known this a little earlier in the day as I would have then been able to head out to buy some food for dinner. As it stands now I will be forced to either sink to eating leftovers or to throw something together based on the odds and ends that are presently available to me.

-We now have a new chair in our living room. The new chair is a deep red upholstered 'tub chair.' So far all three of us are quite pleased with the purchase, particularly that it seems to work quite nicely with our recently acquired ottoman.

A Few Quick Notes 219

-While there was a fair bit of rain this morning, we don't seem to have received the drenching that was predicted. As far as I am concerned this is absolutely fine because in the past few weeks we have had more rain and humidity than I think was necessary.

-This evening we will be having pot roast for dinner I am quite looking forward to the meal as beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy are some of my favourite foods, and this is one of my favourite way to have have these foods prepared.

-I finally took the time to unpack my printer and organize my desk. These changes to my room and study space should help me get down to work in the coming days. In particular hooking my printer up will be important as many of my readings are from computer files that I will likely need to print.

-This morning Neil and I installed a few items in the kitchen.

The first item we installed was a new under-cabinet halogen lamp. The idea is that this lamp will provide light for the kitchen sink and some of the surrounding areas. As things were before this area was a little short on light, making it hard to always doing a good job of washing the dishes.

On the wall just behind the sink we installed a spice rack. Due to the location of the spice rack it is able to benefit from the newly installed light also. The main benefit of the spice rack is that we now have our spices in a location that doesn't require us to bend down and reach in to an awkwardly designed cupboard. Hopefully this installation will make using spices much easier.

-Many of the plants are still doing quite well. The corn and beans are still the tallest, though neither type of plant is anywhere ready to begin producing fruit.

Just a few days ago both types of pepper began to sprout. This surprised me as it took much less time than I expected. The other thing that surprised me about this is that many more of the seeds germinated than I expected. Hopefully these plants will continue to exceed my expectations in the coming weeks and months.

The thyme is still showing signs of trouble. Most the original sprouts have died off, though at least one is still alive. Fortunately a few new seeds have started to show signs of life, giving me how that with a change to the location of the pot I might be able to bring things around to a more positive direction.

A Few Quick Notes 217

-Just like the past few days, today has been a mix of periods of overcast skies and periods of clear skies. Fortunately, the periods of overcast skies haven't brought too much rain with them today. Unfortunately, during the overcast and clear periods it seems to be quite humid.

-It has been so humid in Halifax these past few days I feel as though I haven't stopped sweating since I arrived. This is a particularly unpleasant feelings, and somewhat surprising as it really isn't all that hot outside.

-Last night a friend from St. John's stayed with us. While he was he played a game of Cities and Knights with Neil and I. As one might have expected, Neil ended up winning the game. Amazingly our guest gave Neil a very good run for his money and I might have had more of a chance had I not accidentally allowed myself to lose a city. Though I didn't do particularly well I am glad that I got a chance to play Cities and Knights for the first time in some number of years. Hopefully we will be able to manage to get time for a few more games in the near future.

-Since I have been in Halifax I have been sleeping on an assortment of pads and mats stacked on top of each other. Not surprisingly, this isn't really an ideal long-term bed situation, though it is surprisingly comfortable in the short term.

In an attempt to rectify this situation Neil and I went out to a nearby store that sells cheap mattresses. While the mattresses seemed to be pretty passable, I was a little disappointed to learn that they were charging $159. This price, while likely quite reasonable, seemed to be on the high side. In the end I decided not to buy one, though maybe a few more weeks on a makeshift bed will convince me to get my act together and cough up the $159 for a real mattress.

-Neil and I did a pretty ridiculous amount of grocery shopping today. First we made our way over to the Sobey's for a number of sale items, as well as a few general purchases.

After we returned to the apartment and dropped off our purchases we made our way back out, this time to head to the Atlantic Superstore, for more sale purchases and general shopping.

Hopefully this means that we will be able to go at least a day or two without heading to the grocery store, a streak that would be a Halifax record for me.